All Hail the Queen
by inzayn41D
Summary: When you find yourself in the presence of a queen, cherish her. A collection of tales and short stories from Camp Jupiter.
1. Birthday Cake

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Heroes of Olympus series or PJO, Rick Riordan does. There will be snippets of MoA, so if you haven't read it you've been warned. _Spoilers ahead_. Also when House of Hades comes out I plan on incorporating plot details from there, after a substantial amount of time passes, so this fanfic can be more canonically accurate. That is all.**

They seated themselves down under a lofty willow tree, spreading out the picnic blanket beneath them. He rested his back against the tree and observed the park around them. It was one particularly hot roman afternoon. The sun was held high above them, scorching anything that was unfortunate enough to be directly underneath it. Luckily for them they were hidden underneath the shade of the willow tree. Piper shifted slightly only to take out the cornucopia next to her. Shaking it slightly there was an outpour of soft drinks, sandwiches and a purple cake. It suddenly dawned on him that it could be his birthday cake. He was trying to keep it a secret from the others, after all how could he celebrate his birthday when the Romans were making preparations to invade Camp Half-Blood and Gaea was on the verge of awakening?

"Is it someone's birthday?" Piper frowned.

Jason inched away from Piper. "I wasn't going to say anything."

"Jason!"

"There's too much going on," he said. "And honestly…before last month, I didn't even know when my birthday was. Thalia told me the last time she was at camp." He rushed to explain.

For a moment Piper looked lost in her thoughts.

"July First," Piper said. "The Kalends of July."

"Yeah." Jason smirked. "The Romans would find that auspicious—the first day of the month named for Julius Caesar. Juno's sacred day. Yippee."

"Sixteen?" Piper asked.

He nodded. "Oh, boy. I can get my driver's license."

Piper looked like she was trying to suppress her laughter, he really wished she wouldn't. Her laughter would always warm his heart, even when he was in the most troubled state.

Well?" she gestured towards the cake. "Blow out the candles."

He obliged toward her request and with one blow he extinguished the flames.

Suddenly a surging headache rippled through his head. He tried his best to hide his reaction from Piper and by her waiting silently for him to make his wish, it was working. A wave of memories flooded his head all beginning with a flashback of him standing alone in the Garden of Bacchus.

* * *

He silently treaded on stone pavement as he waited for Reyna to arrive. This was her favourite hideout. He knew well enough that she would come here now and then to release herself from the never-ending plague of senatorial duties and to meditate by herself. Here was one of the only places Reyna was ever at peace, it was either here or at one of New Rome's many cafés. He turned around to see a glimmering object in the distance and to his surprise it was moving. It took him seconds to decipher it was one of Reyna's automatons, which meant that she wasn't that far behind.

Reyna's figure emerged from behind the hedges along with Aurum trotting obediently beside her. Her metal dogs were peculiar things. With their heads always held high and their little tails wagging behind them. Something told him they were imitating the queenly behaviour of their owner. Reyna looked as polished and refined as usual. Her head held high along with her gleaming armour and the sleek braid that seemed as if it could go on for ages.

"Jason." She said as she regarded him with amusement. "What brings you here?"

The plate of cake suddenly felt wobbly in his hands. She always had this effect on him, her imposing stature and her tendency to act so regal made everyone, even Octavian feel reduced to a child. Even though he was put in the position as Praetor a little over two weeks ago he still felt inferior to her.

"I felt as if you were overworking yourself so I—um bought you... I mean us some snacks." He said a little too quickly.

Her eyes had the slightest glint of delight which made him less intimidated and more confident.

"Very well then." She said as she pursed her lips. It seemed as if she was trying to hide her smile. Reyna gestured her hand towards the nearby fountain and walked past him to take a seat, likewise he had followed her.

Earlier he had set down two cups of hot chocolate, Reyna preferred chocolate while he got himself white hot chocolate. The drinks had cooled down a bit but it was still warm enough to savour. Aurum and Argentum lay at her feet and he was careful enough not to disturb them. He was still new as a Praetor and was only around Reyna for a short time so naturally her guard dogs were wary of him. He reached out for the container and held it out for Reyna.

"Cake?" She said as she stared at him quizzically.

He nodded. "That's what it is, isn't it?"

"It's not my birthday." Reyna stared quizzically at the plate.

"Here's a fork." He handed her it along with a stack of napkins.

She placed the slice of cake on a napkin and cut it neatly into two tiny slices.

"Eating something by yourself doesn't taste nearly as good as when you're sharing it." She muttered silently, a small encompassing her face. "Here." She placed out the cake and napkin, expectantly waiting for him to take it.

He could remember how brightly he smiled that day. Just thinking about it brought back the sweet taste of the cake to his lips. That was the beginning of their long and blurred relationship.

Were they friends, definitely. Enemies at certain times, maybe? Lovers? Even he didn't have the answer to that. She would always be his first chance at love. Maybe if the the fates were less cruel to them, maybe if they were in another time possibly? If he actually had a say in his destiny? Would they have been together, definitely. And that was all that was left to say.

He then turned to face Piper.

"I've been thinking..."

**I'm probably not going to get a lot of reviews from this since its the intro but please do! you might be thinking its just a one shot but its not, hopefully it will be a full length story. Feel free to leave suggestions **

**REVIEW!**


	2. You've got Mail

They say that meeting someone for the second or third time was a lot more easier than the first. Clearly who ever said that was wrong.

The first time he met Reyna was when she stumbled on to camp's borders with dozens of monsters trailing behind her. It took half of the cohorts of the legion to subdue the creatures. Once he was about to introduce himself, he had the inconvenience of Dakota smashing into him. All in which lead to him becoming startled and electrocuting Reyna in the process. All of this was of course by accident but it didn't help boost his morale that Reyna was issued to the infirmary for the next two weeks.

Ever since then they never had the opportunity to bump into each other again. He suspected that it was partially due to Reyna avoiding him. For the next three years she sped through ranks at an alarming pace. Reyna did what he spent years of diligent training for in just a few short months. The senate also took note of her accomplishments and in less than two years she eventually risen as Praetor. Only if he had been prepared to know that he would become praetor a few years later. After a successful campaign against the Titans, he ascended to the thrown as New Rome's new leader and co-commander of the legions.

The previous praetor, Darien had taken an unexpected leave. According to rumours that happened to be spreading around camp and the city like wild fire, Reyna had murdered poor Darien and forged his documents in order to make it look like he left for college. It was either that or she fed him to her dogs. He received multiple warnings and a few farewells before he entered the senate room. Once he stopped in front of her was when he turned completely rigid. Even though those rumours were false they were certainly getting the better of him.

He instinctively outstretched his arm, "Jason Grace, pleased to be of you're acquaintance." He tried his best not to squirm under her glower.

"Likewise." She said through gritted teeth. Reyna never bothered to accept his warm gesture instead she stared at him as if he was some repulsive dead rat.

"I don't always electrocute people." He said sincerly. In desperation he tried to lighten the mood only to make the air feel more tenser between them.

"Walk with me." She requested, although it sounded more like an order. Reyna led him to the back of the principia and so far he was astonished, he'd never been this far back before. She unlocked two large wooden doors and instructed him to go inside. Once they were inside, the doors automatically shut behind them and the lights flickered on. They seemed to be inside some kind of vault. His eyes grown twice as wide as he stared up at the rows of scrolls that lined every square inch of the walls.

"This is Camp Jupiter's archives." She stated. "All of Rome's records since the Republic until now are stored in these shelves."

"W-wow.." He stammered. He couldn't believe thousands of years worth of data was compiled and stored just in this room.

"Every legionnaires history is recorded in here, so I suggest you don't do anything to ruin your reputation."

He felt as if he was supposed to salute to her just to prove he got the concept but instead he nodded.

"Good." She said as she opened the doors and led him out. Once they were in the centre of the principia she seated herself in one of the Praetor thrones, he got the feeling that he was just not ready enough to take his seat beside her, that and he was a little too intimidated by the two metal guard dogs that lay growling by her feet.

"They don't bite, unless you lie." She said as she patted the silver dog's head.

"That's nice to know." He grumbled to himself.

As soon as he said those words the two dogs snapped their jaws at him, probably taking him for their next meal.

"Calm down boys, don't bite just yet." She said soothingly. He could tell there was an hostile edge to her voice. "You know that being praetor is job taken with utmost respect and credibility." She said cooly.

"I know, it's nothing new to me, I've always been considered a leader because of my parentage—"

"Do not fail us, Jason Grace. You only get one chance, do I make myself clear?" She asked, her voice as hard as iron.

"Yes."

"Excellent, I expect you to be back exactly in this spot at eight o'clock sharp. As you know negligence is not tolerated in the legion, especially in high ranked officials." After that she arranged all of her scrolls and supplies, walking straight out the door with her two dogs in tow. Before they were completely gone the two automatons made the effort to snarl at him on their way out. He was beginning to think that his time as praetor would be extremely difficult and sure enough he was right.

For the next few days Reyna gave him trivial things to do such as oversee stable cleaning and regulating the camp's kitchen. Two things he never wanted to do again. Reyna explained that those tasks brought out workmanship and patience all in which benefited praetors. But nothing was worser than cleaning out the shrines on Temple Hill, he swore Octavian made them extra dirty just for him. He was beginning to think being praetor was a cleaning service moreover a political one.

In his attempts to befriend Reyna, she was still giving him the cold shoulder, he invited her to get coffee numerous times, which she declined to for unknown reasons. She seemed intent on not communicating with him and the only time she did was when she was forced to.

He swore she hated him, so for some consolidation and advice he turned to one of his closest friends, Bobby. Maybe Bobby could give him pointers on how to get on Reyna's good side.

"You realize rarely anyone got on her good side before, it would be especially hard... you know since your a guy."

"I know man, but I seriously need your help." He sighed.

"Don't worry I've got you're back." Bobby said reassuringly. "So you've tried everything right?"

"Yeah."

"Phone calls, texts, inviting her out to eat and visiting her?"

"That's basically it." He replied.

"Okay man, I've got a full proof plan that will make her have to like you." Bobby started.

"I'm listening."

"Okay, here it goes."

* * *

He was pacing nervously around the senate room until he heard the the loud slamming of doors. Seconds later Reyna barged into the room, her face tinged with fury. The next thing he knew, a stack of papers flew into his face.

"You think this is funny?" She sneered. "What kind of sick joke is this?"

"Oh." He chuckled nervously. "That."

"I don't know what type of game your trying to play nor do I want to find out." She growled. "But keep all your personal records to yourself."

Later on at dinner, Reyna refused to sit at the praetors table alongside him. Instead she opted to sit with her friends at her former cohort. Luckily for him, he had his friends from the fifth join him.

"So wait, you sent all your Camp Jupiter stuff to her just so she could get to know you better?" Gwen looked like she was going to double over from laughter. Soon enough everyone's eyes were on them.

"Certificates and all?" Dakota said in a surprisingly calm voice, Kool aid had this kind of effect on him sometimes.

"And all of my achievements."

"Wow this is an all time low for you, Jason." Gwen said between giggles."Surprisingly I find that strangely adorable."

"Yeah, if you mean strangely adorable in a creepy and deranged way. She probably thinks your some kind of psychopath." Dakota said truthfully.

"She said as praetor I needed to prove my merits."

"And you did," Dakota finally burst out into laughter. "In all the wrong ways."

That night there was no war games, that came to him as a relief. The idea of refereeing the war games with Reyna was not something he was particularly interested to do.

Now he was walking along the via Praetoria, the usual route he took to go home. Once he was at his steps he nearly toppled over something while he was trying to unlock the door. At first he thought it was another one of the steps but it was actually a fairly large box. The boxes contents included a neatly folded camp t-shirt, achievement awards, plaques and medals. Recognizing the items he had sent to Reyna earlier, he carried the box indoors. Maybe Reyna was partially human after all, he made a mental note to thank her for packing his stuff later.

**Last weekend I was at my friend's house watching a movie. Her family happens to be complete Bollywood fans, I can see why Bollywood's pretty sick. The main character sent his birth certificate to the lead female character because he wanted to get to know her, so you can say I was "inspired" to write this chapter because of it. I don't know the name of the movie but if it sounds recognizable please tell me! I want to give credit to it. ****Sorry if this chapter is cheesy, I plan on writing more heartfelt chapters later. Thanks to the 4 reviewers, I never expected to get any reviews at all. Please Review! Reviews are appreciated.**

**Jasper fans feel free to tell me if you want chapters connecting with Piper.**


	3. Empty Promises

They were deep beneath the starboard of the ship. Him and Piper had been instructed to clean out the stables. He could feel Piper's eyes lingering on him while he was doing his work, although it didn't phase him. What bothered him was the unsettling silence between them. Usually Piper would have many things to talk about, like how her day went and what stupid stunt Leo pulled next. Today she kept relatively quiet. Did he do something wrong? Or was he really just bland?

The bronze lanterns that were attached on to the ceiling were swaying along with the ocean's currents. The silence between them was so strong that he heard the waves pulsing outside of Argo II. He could even recognize Coach Hedges hooves stomping against the deck. The deck he just polished. He momentarily put a halt to his work and craned his neck over to check on Piper.

Her face was scrunched up distastefully, as if she taken a bite out of a lemon.

"What are you thinking?" He asked with concern. At the sound of his voice she dropped the broom to look up at him.

"Nothing," she said. "I mean…a lot of things. Kind of all at once."

He laughed at her sour reaction. He always found it cute whenever she made those quirky faces.

"It's going to work out," He assured her,"You said so yourself."

Her face darkened at his words. There was definitely something going on with her. But why wouldn't Piper tell him? Did she not trust him?

"Yeah," Piper agreed. "Except I was just saying that to make Annabeth feel better."

Jason shrugged. "Still, it's true. We're almost to the ancient lands. We've left the Romans behind."

"And now they're on their way to Camp Half-Blood to attack our friends."

At those words his mouth automatically morphed into a scowl. Camp Jupiter was just months away from marching on Camp Half-Blood. If the crew made it back on time who would he defend, the camp he owed everything to or his new home. Either way he felt out of place at both of the camps. Camp Jupiter branded him a traitor and if he even decided to go in the perimeter of its borders his head would be severed and placed on a display rack. His other home, Camp Half-Blood viewed him as a spy and nothing above that.

He tried his best to phrase things lightly. "Chiron will find a way to stall them. The Romans might take weeks to actually find the camp and plan their attack. Besides, Reyna will do what she can to slow things down. She's still on our side. I know she is." He promised.

"You trust her."

"Look, Pipes. I told you, you've got nothing to be jealous about."

"She's beautiful. She's powerful. She's so…Roman." She blurted out, a pained expression plastered on her face.

Surprisingly their conversation bore a striking similarity to a discussion he had not that long ago, deep within the fortified walls of Camp Jupiter.

* * *

"What do you see in me?" She asked rather brashly. He felt like lead underneath her intense gaze. For a moment he stood there stunned, unable to recover from her outburst.

"I see a very capable leader and among other things—"

"You have plenty of other girls falling at your feet, why are you waiting on me?" She said more calmly as if she was sincerely wondering why anybody would take the time out of their day and worry about her.

"Because I care for you, Reyna." He said softly, inching towards her. "Ever since we went to Battery you've been acting so strangely."

She paused as if she was deliberating something before taking a step back.

It genuinely hurt him that she kept her distance from him. "Reyna you can't avoid me forever." He forced a weak smile. "I mean, doing your praetor work in the middle of the night just so you don't have to face me in the day." His eyes then drifted over their work table, the wood of the table was barely visible due to the amount of documents and testimonials scattered across it's surface.

"I don't see why your making an issue out of this." Reyna said in a monotoned voice. "This is petty." It truly surprised him how she managed to stay so calm and collected while he was about to blow a fuse.

"Petty?" He laughed ominously. "Petty as in you constantly avoiding me, what happened to you?" He spat.

"That's none of your concern." She said coldly, her voice dripping with venom. "Why are you letting something so petty get between you're praetor duties?"

"You're acting just like when we first met," He growled. "Cold hearted and cruel."

"Do you want to know why I acted like I did?" She said cooly. He remained silent as he waited for her to respond. "I was afraid."

_Afraid of what?_ He thought. The idea of Reyna being frightened truly scared him. She was not the type of person to fear let alone show fear at all. "Reyna.." He started.

"I was afraid," she continued to ignore him. "That I'd give my hea—no, no.." Reyna started to rebuked herself. She seemed as if she was battling with herself in order to stop herself from continuing.

"Reyna, if your afraid that I'll hurt you that would never happen..I swear on it." He said as he edged closer to her. She looked nerved at his close proximity to her but he didn't let that bug him because then he grabbed on to her hand.

"You're beautiful and powerful," he said, with every word that left his mouth it felt as if a spear was being driven threw his chest. "And I don't want you to be Roman." He, continued, the imaginary spear still tearing at his innards. "I want you to be Piper. Besides, we're a team, you and me." He breathed out raggedly. Thankfully Piper never noticed the beads of sweat forming on his forehead. If this went on for any longer he swore it would be the death of him. Maybe this was his punishment, for toying with Reyna's feelings and for stringing along poor Piper. He deserved none of them.

_Why is she still with me_, he thought to himself as Piper gazed up at him affectionately. Hadn't she been warned enough about his kind? He could feel his gut churning, he never felt so disgusted with himself.

Suddenly the ship's bell rang for dinner, jolting both him and Piper out of their trances.

Jason smiled dryly. "We'd better get up there. We don't want Coach Hedge tying bells around our necks."

As they were heading up the staircase he instinctively clutched on to his chest. Even though the spear was fake the pain sure felt real.

**Writing this chapter was extremely fun! I throughly enjoyed it! Writing parallels between Jason's past and present is great! Review if you want more parallels or more Camp Jupiter moments either way still review! Review, Review, Review!**


	4. Katoptris

**To answer your question, Guest... Well erm.. Why don't you take a guess? And yes I will crush everyones feelings until they are crumpled into nothing but dust!**

This was by far the longest night he ever experienced. As of now he was in Piper's cabin with her resting alongside him. Normally he was never one to break the rules but ever since Percy and Annabeth fell into Tartarus, none of the crew, including him acted the same. Piper was hit especially hard, Annabeth was one of her closest friends, the first person who took her in at camp although Annabeth wasn't really that sane at the time.

"Annabeth...Percy," she called out in her sleep, tossing restlessly under her covers. Even in her sleep she had an anguished look on her face. The weight of guilt started to seep into his gut. Where was he when Annabeth was on her dangerous solo quest, why didn't he swoop over and fly Percy and Annabeth to safety before they had fallen? Where was he when he was supposed to be a leader to the rest of the seven, oh yeah too knocked out to care, he thought bitterly. Now Camp Jupiter was weeks away from invading Camp Half-Blood, if he would've stepped up and taken back his job as praetor would things still have happened the same way they did?

Piper was still clenching on to his hand, as her nightmare wore on the tighter her grip would become on him. From above he could hear the whistling of the wind, no doubt from above the deck it was deafening. Out of nowhere something impacted with the ship causing the whole bunker to rumble. He had enough of the Roman monsters and at that moment he was ready to leap out of bed, until Piper's hand held him back.

"Stay," She called out. "Please don't go." Even in her sleep she still managed to use her charmspeak. Immediately he plopped back down next to her, resting his back against the bed frame. To his right he noticed a faint glow coming from the nightstand.

It was Piper's dagger, Katoptris. He wondered how many times Piper peered into it for the last few days. Curiosity quickly enveloped him. He knew he shouldn't look into it, for the most part Katoptris showed images that were better off not to be seen. Grabbing the dagger he gazed into it, expecting to see Percy and Annabeth hobbling through Tartarus. Instead Katoptris showed him an image that was very different.

Reyna was standing alone in a spacious hotel room. It was like one of those hotel rooms he'd seen on luxury tv shows, the ones celebrities would constantly check into, complete with a perfect view of New York City's skyline. Even in urgency Camp Jupiter would always provide the perfect accommodation to it's legionnaires. Mist fogged over the windows which enabled Reyna to write inscriptions over them. It seemed funny to him, never would he imagine Reyna to do something so trivial. She wrote in the letter J and then A before completely finishing off to spell the rest of his name. His heart tightened at the sight of her reminiscing about him.

Abruptly the doors behind her tore open, revealing a furious Octavian. At that Reyna slashed her fingers threw his name and whipped her head to face the augur.

"You can't hold back the legion forever." Octavian said angrily.

She kept her silence as Octavian continued to smite her.

"We will march on that Greek camp, the legion will decimate it until the idea of it's very existence is wiped off permanently. Nothing will be left untouched." He flashed her a crooked smile, his eyes gleaming murderously.

"We are at war, Octavian," Reyna said unemotionally. But her eyes told the story, there seemed to be a silent fury brewing within them. "You whipped the legion into a frenzy, you made them thirst for blood."

"And blood shall be spilt." He sneered. "Your beloved Jason can't save you now, he left you for a graecus, the most biggest of insults."

"This is not about Jason." Her voiced hardened. "This is about protecting my people.."

"Your people don't even want you as their leader anymore." Octavian laughed. "And you don't need to worry about Jason anymore, he's dead." He then reached into his belt and pulled out a neatly folded letter and a pen. "This was issued by the senate and people of Rome."

Reyna tore the paper from his hands, scanning over it vigorously. Suddenly the colour drained from her skin. "What is the meaning of this?" She stammered.

"A resignation." He gave her a fake smile. "It seems like the senate finds you unfit to be a leader," He said in a pitying voice. "Given your current state of mind."

"I have to cede all my authority to you?"

"See everything works out in the end. You get to return to your sister and I get the position that I was after for so long." He beamed. "Of course I'd prefer you'd do things nicely and quietly, we wouldn't want to do things the old fashioned way, now would we?"

Reyna's eyes widened at his suggestion. Jason couldn't believe what he was witnessing, Octavian was threatening Reyna into exile. Just at the sight of it made him want to scream and lash out endlessly. All he wanted to do was bash Octavian's head into a wall.

With one last glance at Reyna, Octavian exited the room, slamming the door behind him. Immediately after that Reyna collapsed into her chair, picking up the pen with one hand and the letter with the other.

The image became fuzzy until it completely disappeared. Only then had he noticed the tears prickling down his face.

"No Reyna, no.." He called out softy. _You can't do this, you have to fight them_, he wanted to scream at the top of his lungs. He suddenly felt sick to his stomach. He had always thought of Reyna as invincible, her will was strong enough to lead an entire army. But the girl he had just seen now was a mere shadow of her former self.

_If only he had known Piper was watching him from behind._

**I updated twice in two days, I think I deserve a round of applause and a couple of reviews (: 1 review only for the last two chapters, come on guys jk but I really want to know how this story is going so far, do you guys like it. XD! Poor Jason, it must be hard experiencing Man Pain.**


	5. Home Is Where You Belong

They were standing alone on the deck of the ship. Just him and Piper. He snook a couple of glances her way, the moonlight made her look twice as beautiful as she actually was; if that was possible.

The night was mildly pleasant, the ship finally sailing along smoothly, without being ambushed by monsters. But he didn't have the time to admire all that because his mind quickly got side-tracked to what had happened earlier on in the day.

He was literally seconds away from slicing open Percy's throat or the other way around; although he wasn't going to admit that anytime soon. Fortunately Piper had been there to save them both. How may times had he owed his life to her?

"Thanks, Pipes," he said. "You saved me again."

It came to him almost naturally to wrap his arm around her waist. A warm smile spread over her face, he wouldn't be lying if he said his heart skipped a few beats. It looked like she was going to kiss him in any minute, instead she chose to reply.

"I don't know if Percy will trust me anymore," she said. "Not after I let his horse knock him out."

He would be lying if he said he wasn't the least bit disappointed. To brush off his crumbled feelings he let out a forced laugh.

"Don't worry about that. Percy's a nice guy, but I get the feeling he needs a knock on the head every once in a while."

"You could have killed him." She said in a frantic voice.

_Or he could have killed you._

At that thought the smile on his face instantly wiped off.

"But I almost let you," Piper said. "When Gaea said I had to choose, I hesitated and…" She started to stammer, her eyes quickly starting to moisten.

The look on his face must of been pretty harsh and unforgiving, because at that moment he relaxed his facial expression.

"Don't be so hard on yourself," He said soothingly, loosening the grip he had on her waist. "You saved us both."

"But if two of our crew really have to die, a boy and a girl—"

"I don't accept that. We're going to stop Gaea. All seven of us are going to come back alive. I promise you." Her voice cracked at his promise. Great, he had made her even more sadder then before. He was beginning to think he was awful at the whole relationship concept. So much for being The Best Boyfriend Ever.

That's when Piper started asking the real questions. He was hoping that she knew well enough not to ask him about it or completely forget to ask him, which either way worked fine. He guessed he would have to tackle the question sometime and who was better enough to ask him of it, no one other then his very own girlfriend.

"The legend that Annabeth mentioned," she said, "about the Mark of Athena…why didn't you want to talk about it?" His eyes suddenly became glued on to the floor.

"Pipes, I don't know what's true and what's not. That legend…it could be really dangerous."

"For who?" She insisted to continue the conversation.

"All of us," he said grimly. "The story goes that the Romans stole something important from the Greeks, back in ancient times, when the Romans conquered the Greeks' cities." He phrased the words exactly like when Reyna was telling him the tale.

"But why not just tell Annabeth?" Piper asked. "She's not going to suddenly hate you."

The sails some how became more interesting to look at then the floors.

"I hope not." He admitted. But the legend says that the children of Athena have been searching for this thing for millennia. Every generation, a few are chosen by the goddess to find it. Apparently, they're led to Rome by some sign…the Mark of Athena."

"If Annabeth is one of those searchers…we should help her." Piper decided.

He wasn't quite sure about that idea. Annabeth had told then earlier it was her solo quest and she'd be fulfilling the quest alone, without even Percy's help.

"Maybe. When we get closer to Rome, I'll tell her what little I know. Honest. But the story, at least the way I heard it—it claims that if the Greeks ever found what was stolen, they'd never forgive us. They'd destroy the legion and Rome, once and for all. After what Nemesis told Leo, about Rome's being destroyed five days from now…"

Piper appeared to be consumed in her thoughts until she finally focused back to him.

"I'm sorry, by the way," Jason said. The words felt forced, almost foreign to his mouth.

Piper wiped a stray tear from her eye."Sorry for what? It was the eidolon who attacked—"

"Not about that." The words surprisingly had not ceased to outpour from his mouth.

"I was stupid to ask you to contact Reyna," he said. "I wasn't thinking."

For a moment Piper looked stunned.

"Oh." Was her only reply, right before she chose to stare directly up into the clouds. Oh no, he mentally screamed at himself, now he done it. Piper was probably on the verge of breaking up with him. Just as he was about to verse millions of apologies she spoke again.

"Really, it's okay."

It was really a no brainier to know that was a lie.

"It's just…I never felt that way toward Reyna," Jason said, "so I didn't think about it making you uncomfortable. You've got nothing to worry about, Pipes." The words continued to flow freely out of his mouth, he really had the urge to slap his hand over his lips.

"I wanted to hate her," Piper admitted. "I was so afraid you'd go back to Camp Jupiter."

"That would never happen. Not unless you came with me. I promise." He dragged on, what was the matter with him?

Piper grabbed hold of his hand, satisfied with his half-assed commentary. She managed to smile although the sullen expression on her face had not yet disappeared.

From above the clouds rolled by, for now Jason found it to be more interesting then keeping quiet. He was left to think about what he said earlier, had he really meant it? The night had been peaceful, so far and he did just what any bored person would have done, he thought back. No one had control over his thoughts, or so he thought, so that was exactly what he did.

* * *

The rolling golden hills of Camp Jupiter never stopped looking so beautiful to him. Every time he stopped to admire his surroundings he was nothing short from awestruck. He was glad that this time Reyna was there to marvel with him.

"It's breathtaking isn't it?" He asked her probably for the thousandth time that day.

She nodded halfheartedly as she stared off into the distance. The both of them were overlooking all of camp and New Rome just before sunset. He wasn't exactly a romance guru but he figured this was romantic enough.

"I've been at camp ever since I could remember." He started to ramble. "I know basically nothing about the world outside of camp."

Reyna smiled at him, almost pityingly, like he was a child that said something foolish.

"The world is a dangerous place, especially for us." She started. "This is where we belong."

"I know, but aren't you the least bit curious?"

"No." She said flatly. Reyna had came to camp about four years ago, she must have had some pretty harsh experiences out there to make her resent going back.

"Well I am." He said a little too boldly. Reyna gave him a once over before turning her back on him.

"I always wanted to see the world for what it is," He reasoned. "What if there's other half-bloods like us, not just in California but all over America and the rest of the world..."

Reyna nodded after considering what he had to say.

"And you want to help them?"

"Yes, of course." He said gladly. His confidence instantly skyrocketed, "I always wanted someone to come along with me, someone close maybe like a partner.." He glanced at Reyna. "I was wondering if maybe you'd come..."

"No."

"What?" He had just gushed out his hopes and dreams to her only to receive a flat out no. She could've at least worded it nicely. "Wait.." He backtracked. "I mean after we complete our service."

"Camp Jupiter is my home, it's where my duty and loyalty lies." She said. "Even after my years of service I will continue to defend camp. I wouldn't leave it for the world. It's my home.."

As fast as his confidence skyrocketed it plummeted back down.

"Camp Jupiter is my home too." He stared at her miserably. "I will always come back."

"Jason, camp is the only place built for people like us. We train together we fight together. Here we can go to college and build communities..."

"And start families." He added, staring at Reyna directly in the eye. She refused to hold his gaze, was it just him or did she squirm?

"Yeah and that too." She said as she looked at her feet.

"I always wanted a big family." He remarked gleefully. "Considering I didn't have that growing up."

Reyna looked like she was trying to fight a smile. "Let's focus on what we have now in the present, and wait for what the future has to offer."

"Okay." He agreed, before turning to face the rest of camp and New Rome. Some how the golden hills appeared less vibrant than before.

**Thanks for the lovely reviews you guys. To MissBlueSunGlasses you have nothing to apologize for. Anyways please leave reviews, I have a couple more flashback ideas but tell me if you want chapters solely on Jason's time at Camp Jupiter.**


	6. Battery

Annabeth looked like a madwoman as she dashed along the floor of the ship. Her unruly curls were blowing wildly in the wind, her intense grey eyes landing on him. He always had the feeling that Annabeth wasn't quite fond of him, the feeling was mutual.

"I—I'm close to an answer," she said. "I'll know more if we find this map. Jason, the way you reacted to the name Charleston …have you been there before?" Even though she phrased her words nicely, he recognized the hostility in her voice.

Jason made the effort to glance over at Piper before explaining.

"Yeah," he admitted. "Reyna and I did a quest there about a year ago. We were salvaging Imperial gold weapons from the C.S.S. Hunley ."

It had been so long ago, when him and Reyna navigated the city. Upon their arrival, Reyna had instantly fallen in love with it. With it's rich and diverse culture, european-esque infrastructure and southern charm it was no surprise to him why Reyna had admired Charleston so much.

"The what?" Piper asked.

"Whoa!" Leo said. "That's the first successful military submarine. From the Civil War. I always wanted to see that."

"It was designed by Roman demigods," Jason said. "It held a secret stash of Imperial gold torpedoes—until we rescued them and brought them back to Camp Jupiter."

Hazel crossed her arms. "So the Romans fought on the Confederate side? As a girl whose grandmother was a slave, can I just say…not cool?"

Jason put his hands in front of him, palms up. "I personally was not alive then. And it wasn't all Greeks on one side and all Romans on the other. But, yes. Not cool. Sometimes demigods make bad choices." He looked sheepishly at Hazel. "Like sometimes we're too suspicious. And we speak without thinking."

He tried not to think too much of it but what Hazel had said to him earlier really stung. Her words chimed perfectly through his mind, tormenting him over and over again. Here he was, not even able to stand on his own two feet without Piper's help and yet he was supposed to be a leader. He was even failing to lead Hazel and Frank, the only two Romans on the ship besides him. His time away from Camp Jupiter was making him truly forget how it was like to be a leader, he couldn't even lead himself anymore without passing out. The idea that he lead well over two hundred legionnaires a little less than a year ago was honestly shocking to him.

Hazel stared at him. Slowly it seemed to dawn on her that he was apologizing.

To further emphasize his point, he elbowed Leo.

"Ow!" Leo yelped. "I mean, yeah…bad choices. Like not trusting people's brothers who, you know, might need saving. Hypothetically speaking."

Hazel pursed her lips. "Fine. Back to Charleston. Are you saying we should check that submarine again?"

Jason shrugged. "Well…I can think of two places in Charleston we might search. The museum where they keep the Hunley—that's one of them. It has a lot of relics from the Civil War. A map could be hidden in one. I know the layout. I could lead a team inside."

For the rest of the conversation he nodded along to whatever anyone was saying, not that he was listening anyway. At least he made minimal comments here and there.

"Anyway," Frank said, clearly anxious to change the subject. "The museum is one place to search. But, uh, Jason, you said there were two?"

Jason's mood instantly darkened. He was inwardly battling with himself to fight off those awful memories. Memories he definitely did not want to remember. But of course he failed to, because then the memory hit him like a brick.

* * *

The train ride was long, it seemed ten times longer since the both of them kept quiet. Taking a train back to California wasn't the most efficient way to get back in a hurry but it sure was effective, it was their only option.

The railway company had been generationally owned by a family of legacies from Camp Jupiter, so with just the right paperwork they were let on. Their stash of Imperial gold they had salvaged from the C.S.S Hunley was stored back in the cargo bus along with the rest of the passengers luggage.

They were midway Kansas and Colorado, just on the borderline of the two states. He had to admit, staring at dry prairie land was not particularly interesting. He stole a quick glance at Reyna, who was seated adjacent to him. Her head was pressed against the window, her eyes locked tightly. For the past seven days she barely spoke a word to him and when she did it was seldom. It was like she restrained herself from him and even when they spoke her words felt restricted.

He felt worse then a stranger, at least then they'd try to get to know each other. They were downgraded back to just co-workers, a strictly monotonous relationship. The train halted at the train station, all the passengers on board, including them, rushed out.

The station was located basically in the middle of nowhere, the only other place in sight was a rundown diner. The only thing that got Reyna off his mind for just a brief moment was his growling stomach.

The interior of the diner didn't look as bad as the outside. The restaurant looked like one of those diners off a cheesy 80's movie, complete with the checkerboard floor, ancient looking ACs and the horrible rock music. It was like him and Reyna were transported back a couple of decades ago.

The diner was filled with people, he recognized some faces from the train station but the rest were new to him. In the back corner of the bistro was an unoccupied booth. Without thinking he grabbed on to Reyna's hand and led her to the seats, for once she complied. Although it was short lived because when they got there she tore her hand away from his.

Before he could even pick up the menu a waitress was already with them.

"Hello, can I get you anything, hon?" She beamed at them. Her frizzy red hair was kept up with a vibrantly patterned scrunchie. _Wow, even the people here look like their trapped in time, _he thought_._ Jason peered at her name tag which read; DOROTHY, before he ordered.

"Two cheeseburgers," he said as he examined the menu. "And one Triple Chocolate Milkshake with a side of fries."

"Sure thing, hon." The waitress said, scribbling down his order on her notepad.

"And how 'bout you, sweetheart?" Dorothy asked, glancing up from her notepad.

"Coffee."

"Just coffee?" Dorothy asked bewilderedly.

"Coffee, with a little bit of cinnamon and cream." Reyna affirmed. "If you don't mind I would like you to bring the sugar packets here."

"Okay, sweetheart, whatever you say."

Within five minutes Dorothy returned with their orders. As she was arranging Reyna's coffee she leaned into whisper something in Reyna's ear. He watched the expression on her face, bleak as per usual. Just as Dorothy was about to leave she winked at him, causing him to shift rather uncomfortably.

"Go get him, girly." Dorothy cried. "Don't let him get away." After Dorothy's little speech she was gone, lost in the crowd of hungry customers.

He turned back to Reyna who was absentmindedly pouring sugar in her drink. The empty packets were scattered across the table, _what was she on maybe her seventh packet of sugar?_

"That's enough sugar," He said, taking the cup of coffee out of her hands and stirring it for her. "You'll get a sugar high."

"I need the energy." Reyna replied.

Sliding the mug back to her, they ate in silence. He downed his food in less than three minutes, while Reyna sipped on her coffee, occasionally stopping to add more sugar.

The next seven days were not nearly as long but still were as utterly boring. Once they stopped in California he was overwhelmed with joy. Fortunately for them one of camp's chaperons were waiting to pick them up.

He never felt more comfortable driving past Berkley's golden hills. Reyna was in the passengers seat, fast asleep, her head hitting the window whenever the SUV drove over a bump.

Once they entered camp a senate meeting was issued immediately, giving them no time to rest.

Apparently public washrooms were high on the senate meetings priority list.

"Our borders are being infiltrated our camp is on the verge of being breached.." Octavian addressed the crowd, pacing angrily across the podium. "The spirits are agitated, danger is nearing."

The senators broke out into murmurs, loud gasps could be heard from the crowd.

"We need thorough proof before we could make those assumptions, Octavian." He said curtly.

"But there is, the auguries foretell it will begin with the appearance of a stranger from the east—"

"As for the monster insurgencies we will send out patrol groups." He cut off Octavian. "And I will have to speak to the spirits themselves. Senate meeting dismissed."

The senators cleared out of the building leaving him and Octavian all alone. He hadn't noticed but Reyna had drifted out with the crowd earlier.

"I always knew you'd be the end us off all." Octavian shrieked.

"What?"

"Oh, so you don't know." He said bemused. "How pathetic, maybe you should ask Reyna, she seems to know."

"Or maybe you should learn to respect your superiors, you wouldn't want to cross me, would you?" He growled.

Octavian turned almost as pale as his blonde hair. Jason brushed past him, taking the effort to bump into him as he walked out the door.

All day people had been wary of him, the spirits dispersed whenever he came within a radius of them, Reyna had been and still was avoiding him like a plague and Octavian just delivered an ominous prophecy to him.

The rest of his old cohort were busy doing daunting tasks while he was left to brood in a corner. Insulted, humiliated and lonely wasn't even beginning to describe how he felt.

Later on he found Reyna sitting alone on one of the benches in the Garden of Bacchus, her back facing him. Her two metal dogs lay at her feet, nuzzling her legs. Right then all he wanted to do was go over there and keep her company, but he stopped himself. He was sure that he was the last person she wanted to see.

"He needs me," She whispered to her hounds. "More then I need him."

His senses went into overdrive, first it was the waitress that mentioned some guy and now it was Reyna.

"Either way if I choose to interfere or not, I'll still end up getting hurt." She sighed. "So why sit back?"

Aurum and Argentum whimpered as a response, cuddling closer to her legs.

"Who knew our relationship would play out to be like a Homeric tragedy." She breathed, shifting off the bench and signalling her dogs to follow. "Even more interesting than Helen and Paris, what is that supposed to mean?"

At that, Jason snuck out the garden, trying his best to remain hidden.

_Reyna had already been aware of his presence._

"Yeah," he said. "The other place is called the Battery—it's a park right by the harbor. The last time I was there…with Reyna…" He glanced at Piper, then rushed on. "We saw something in the park. A ghost or some sort of spirit, like a Southern belle from the Civil War, glowing and floating along. We tried to approach it, but it disappeared whenever we got close. Then Reyna had this feeling—she said she should try it alone. Like maybe it would only talk to a girl. She went up to the spirit by herself, and sure enough, it spoke to her."

The whole crew paused, anxiously awaiting to hear what the ghost had said. Leo was so anxious that it looked like he was going to fall of the edge of the ship.

"What did it say?" Annabeth asked.

"Reyna wouldn't tell me," Jason admitted. "But it must have been important. She seemed…shaken up. Maybe she got a prophecy or some bad news. Reyna never acted the same around me after that..."

**Leave reviews guys! Tell me how you feel about this story do you like the idea of Jason's flashbacks? Do you want just Camp Jupiter scenes? Tell me how this story is going so far!**


	7. Wishful Thinking

Argo II loomed over Camp Half-Blood's woodland. Roman and Greek soldiers alike were clashing with one another. The Roman legionnaires were in a perfect formation, making it virtually impossible for the Greek soldiers to break through their barrier. And if they did make it through they would be swamped by the legionnaires.

The Greeks were falling back, without the help of their fallen leaders, Percy and Annabeth, everything seemed like a lost cause. He could see Clarisse rallying the troops for battle but all the campers were scattered.

The Romans were quickly advancing, causing a path of destruction wherever they went. Ballistas were being loaded and fired, the cries of fallen soldiers rang clearly through the air. The Romans showed no signs of backing down. They were stronger than ever.

_Yet Reyna was nowhere in sight._

Piper's hand slipped into his. No matter how much reassurance she gave him, he still felt awful.

"We've made the right decision, Percy and Annabeth will be alright without us. Right now, this is where we belong, we have to fight."

He nodded solemnly. "You pair up with Leo."

"What?" Piper exclaimed.

"Man the ballista with Leo, keep guard of each other."

"No!" She cried, tears were welling up in her eyes. "You have to let me come with you, we're a team remember?"

"I'll be back for you, I promise..." He kissed her on the forehead before leaping over the edge of the ship.

As soon as his feet touched the ground the whole legion erupted into taunts.

"Traitor!" One legionnaire called out.

"Look how badly he's trying to be Greek, how sad." Someone laughed.

"Deserter!"

Out of nowhere Dakota leapt out in front of him, spreading his arms out to block his way. His eyes were glossed over, he looked like he was going to topple over in any minute. The area around his mouth was extra red, his hands were slicked with blood. Just glancing at his pitiful state made Jason want to throw up.

"You're embarrassed of us aren't you?" Dakota slurred. "You're even ashamed to call me your friend." Dakota let out a cross between a laugh and a cry.

Jason gritted his teeth, time was wearing thin, as much as he wanted to stay and comfort Dakota he had to set things straight. He shoved Dakota out of the way and continued to navigate the rest battle ground. Jason never hated himself more then he did now.

"You'll never belong with them!" Dakota cried, still slumped on the forest ground. "They'll never accept you like we did, Camp Jupiter will always be where you belong!"

Dakota's pleading was drowned out by the sounds of swords clamouring together. The next thing he saw made a whole new wave of anger flood over him.

It was Octavian, parading around on Scipio, Reyna's war horse. Jason was truly surprised how he managed to stop himself from striking down lightning on him.

"Pillage everything!" Octavian commanded from atop his stallion. "Don't stop until everything is burned to the ground! In this very spot we will build a new Roman camp, bigger and more glorious than it's predecessors. Losing is not an option!"

Blood was soaked into the ground, the smell of it clung on to his nose so much so he could taste it lingering in the air.

He made his way to a clearing, catching a glimpse of the last person he expected to see.

_Reyna._

She was staring up blankly at the forest canopy with a javelin at hand. Gone were her usual praetor garbs, instead they were replaced with standard legionnaire attire.

"Jason," She called out, her voice echoing clearly through the forest. "So nice of you to join me."

He was a little unsettled by her formalities, so he pulled his gladius out of it's scabbard.

"I won't hurt you," She said cooly, circling around him like a vulture. "How could I even think to raise a finger against one of the seven? I'd be cursed to an oblivion." She raised her javelin, grazing it down his arm to his wrist. "You know I could always remove your tattoo for you..." She smiled as if the thought of doing so was amusing.

"Reyna...I,"

"For being one of the greatest heroes of the century, you're sure not that great." She seethed.

"Reyna, you've got to listen to me.." He pleaded. "You're the only one who could stop this warfare." No matter how much he begged for her to hear him out, his pleads were left unanswered.

"Me?" She asked. "You think it's my job to fix the mess you've started?"

"Reyna, it's the only option, if you would've tried hard enough—"

"I've tried hard enough, Jason." She snapped. "I've spent countless nights in the Principia doing a job too burdensome, even for two. I've lead my legionnaires to battle all alone, I've dealt with Octavian and New Rome's troubles for eight months! When all you've been doing was frolicking through strawberry fields and singing campfire songs with your girlfriend!" She spat out bitterly.

"You won't even let me explain, Reyna!" Jason snarled. "We've brought back the statue, the rivalries of our camps can be healed."

"I don't need you to explain." She said sharply. "I'm afraid you're too late. Tonight there will be nothing left of this camp, all your friends will either be dead or taken back to Camp Jupiter as prisoners." She said smoothly. "This is your last chance to fix the mistake you've made. Don't make me regret not taking you into custody."

"You're not staying to help?"

"Now it's your turn to make the sacrifices." Reyna said. "I hope... we never have the opportunity to meet again." With that she disappeared into the woodland, leaving behind a very stunned Jason.

_Little did he know that this was the last time he'd see her again. Their paths wouldn't cross again until many years later._

_**Heres a message to all the readers, school is starting up for me so I won't have the time to update everyday, I'll try my best though, promise! I'll be working on my other story, editing and proof reading it. I started that story last winter and I really want to complete it soon. To answer your question Dee3 well in terms of choosing I prefer staying within the realm of exploring Jason's past relationships. And no this well not be a fic wholly based on Jason reliving his past memories. And to Guest I'm thinking about doing some post war chapters. Most likely yes. Stick around for more updates and please review!**_


	8. Sweaters and Canoe Rides

"And who do I make this out to?" He asked, still analyzing the office work in front of him.

"Gaius Kim, CEO of New Rome's Construction Ltd," Reyna replied.

He leaned back in his praetor throne, "What is it now?"

"New Rome's pipelines are not working, which is effecting some of our services.." She explained.

With one knowing look from Reyna he already knew what was at issue.

"Bathrooms," He threw his hands up in frustration. "I thought we made progress on that issue."

"Clearly not enough," Reyna sighed. "It seems to me that our drainage system has rusted over, the pipelines need a full on extensive repair. Tell Mr. Kim to dispatch his best engineers and mechanics before the situation gets anymore worser."

As he was going to reach out for his pen it decided to roll over the edge of the table. Normally he would just bend over and grab it but today was different.

Aurum and Argentum were here, one false move on his part would be extremely fatal and disastrous to his well being; meaning he would become doggy food or better yet a chew toy. He quickly bent over and snagged up his pen just as Argentum snapped at him.

His hands flew two his nose, blood was quickly trickling through his fingers. The two hounds barked from beneath the table, gnawing at his pen.

Then the least expected thing happened, Reyna looked up from her work and glared at him, dead straight in the eye. Her face was completely grim except for the ominous look in her eyes.

"You are disturbing my dogs," she managed to say politely, although the iciness in her voice was detectable.

"They were right about to rip my nose off, even you witnessed it!"

"That's because you agitated them," She stated. "The first aid kit is in the back room, be sure to clean yourself before you come back. Your blood is dripping all over my work and I find that to be repulsive."

Without another word he stalked off, leaving Reyna to finish off both of their work. She definitely knew how to get the best of him, because right then he felt as if he would smash his fist through the wall.

The only thing he ever agreed with Octavian on was his petition to get rid of Reyna's guard dogs, claiming it was a hindrance and a security threat to all citizens of New Rome. If Reyna ever found out he signed the petition she'd flay him alive and use his skin to create little petticoats for Aurum and Argentum.

Later on he found Reyna outside of the Principalis chatting away with senior centurions. He had asked her what her plans been for Sunday evening, which she had plans for.

He didn't know why he asked, Jason was fully aware that every Sunday evening she and Dakota would attend an all exclusive knitting club in New Rome. It initially surprised him when the news spread of Reyna enjoying knitting. He always viewed her from one light, her militaristic side. Never would he picture her doing something so traditionally feminine.

The club was started up by New Rome's Women Society, a group of middle aged women who specially worked with female legionnaires to make their lives...a little more normal. Although the club was private and one needed an invitation to be let in, it gained enormous popularity. The club became notorious for its gossip and delicious tea. Every Monday morning Dakota would spew out the latest rumours and what was happening in his current favourite tv dramas, which he payed no mind to. Jason wouldn't dare to admit that he was curious about what went on in there.

"So, how about early Sunday morning, are you booked then?" He asked nervously, twiddling his thumbs.

She checked her electronic schedule, "I was planing on webcaming my sister and finishing up my knitting project but I'll move that tonight."

"Great!" He said a little too enthusiastically. "How about a canoe ride on little Tiber?"

"I suppose that would be...nice," she said flatly.

The next morning he hadn't anticipated her bringing along her two guard dogs.

Jason was never one to complain, he always fulfilled his tasks diligently, without the slightest hesitation. But with the sun burning him and his nonstop rowing from morning till noon, certainly was enough to ware him out. He looked over at Reyna, who was wearing an oversized sun hat and sunglasses, along with a ginormous beach umbrella which gave her shade. At that moment he realized he never envied anyone more then Reyna right now. She casually continued to knit whatever she was making, occasionally stoping to toss cheese puffs into her mouth.

"What a lovely sweater," she remarked to her dogs as she examined her handy work. "I bet Dakota is going to like this one."

His mouth slacked open once he heard that. Reyna making a sweater for Dakota sounded as ridiculous as it was funny.

Noticing the canoes sudden halt Reyna stared up at him.

"Don't stop rowing," she said as she adjusted the fabric. "You wouldn't want to...disturb my dogs."

**Will New Rome ever figure out the problems with its bathrooms? Sorry for the short chapter, school is starting up friday for me and tomorrow is my registration. Anyways I wanted to shed light on New Rome. Hopefully RR does, we know so little about Camp Jupiter and New Rome. Idk I always viewed New Rome as a community which has a lot of activities and clubs outside camp for legionnaires, like a support system way different from CHB. Tell me if you want something like this in the next chapter! Please review and give me your opinions. **


	9. Miss Reyna

The last time he stepped foot in Camp Jupiter was about fourteen years ago. After many years of absence from his old home something drew him back. That something was his six year old daughter, Piper.

Piper sat next to him, merrily kicking her feet from underneath the table as she sipped on her apple juice. She appeared to be singing along to one of the songs played over the cafés stereo, whatever she was doing she seemed to be having a good time.

They, in particular him, received multiple glares and curious glances from the older customers while the much younger ones payed no mind to them.

It surprised him how fast people could forget about the prophecy of the seven, then again who would want to relive that episode again. He didn't even want the attention anyway. If it was one thing Jason hated being more then a leader, it was being idolized.

"So, why did you want us to come here?" Jason asked. He was genuinely interested in finding out why is daughter randomly selected to come here out of all places.

"Daddy," she exclaimed, giving him a disappointed look. "Remember we have to meet my teacher!"

"Oh yeah, how could I forget?" He laughed. It took him a few moments decipher the strangeness of the scenario. His daughter's teacher was coming to meet them at Camp Jupiter? Suddenly questions started to flood into his mind. Before he could ask them the bell on top of the cafés door rang.

Both him and his daughter's attention fixated on to the woman entering through the woman was tall with an athletic build, her hair was tied back into a sleek braid that fell mid-way down her back and once her gaze landed on Piper a small smile crept on to her face.

"Miss Reyna!" Piper cried, right before she leapt out of her chair and dashed straight into the lady's arms.

All the previous flavour of his coffee suddenly tasted bland in his mouth. He had the overwhelming urge to leave, but instead he was glued on to his seat.

"Reyna?" He choked.

The lady released Piper from their hug to turn up and look at him. It was no surprise she wore the same look of shock as he did.

All the colour was drained out of her face, her eyes widening further with every moment passing. Almost immediately, Reyna straightened herself out.

"Daddy, this is Miss Reyna, she volunteers at my school." Piper chirped, running back into his arms, oblivious to the tension surrounding them.

Jason clapped his hand on his daughter's shoulder. "I know," he mumbled softly. "I know."

**Sorry about the jumbled up timelines and this really short chapter. If there's any errors please tell me. REVIEW**


	10. Moving on

The amount of different music playing at the same time was dizzying. Surprisingly the Greek half-bloods and the Romans were getting along nicely. Although both of the corresponding parties were drunk off Dakota's strange "Kool-Aid" concoction.

He and the crew from Argo II returned to Camp Jupiter celebrate their victory against the giants. It was a gruesome victory at that. Countless of lives were lost and the casualties were absolutely staggering. In his opinion the last thing they needed was a victory celebration; why couldn't they just rest.

The whole of New Rome paraded them through the forum before they reached the Principia were the party was to be held.

Two hours into the party and he was already exhausted. His eyelids were drooping, his head was seconds away from tipping into the punch bowl.

"Come on, Jason!", Dakota slurred as he waved his punch glass in the air angrily. "Just one sip, I swear it'll wake you right up."

"No thanks." He groaned, clutching on to his stomach. He already ate way to much servings of cake for a lifetime.

"Just try it-"

"That's enough Dakota, can't you see Jason's sick!", Piper cut in. "Right now what he needs is rest, not your punch."

"Thanks, Pipes. But can I be excused? I'll be back in two seconds."

"Alright," Piper shuffled over. "Be back quick."

"I will." He called back.

The weather outside was placid, although it was somewhat cool. Jason shoved his hands in his pockets and continued to walk down the street.

Originally he thought he was heading towards the bathroom, but instead he ended up in front of the Praetor houses. Not his old house, but Reyna's.

He remembered very little on what Reyna's house actually looked like on the inside. Before he was "abducted", for the most part he would stay outside of Reyna's house whenever he needed to pick her up, which was really rare, considering she was always ready before him. Either that or in her living room; the rest of the house was strictly off limits, for everyone including him.

Reyna was a very private person, leaving most of her personal life locked behind closed doors. Because of that the public kept hush-hush when ever the topic of her was brought up, even Octavian didn't have a smidgen of dirt to use against her. He remembered how much it nerved him that he knew so little about her.

From what he could remember, Reyna's home was exactly like she was, it lacked personalization, the furniture was monotoned along with everything else in the room. The only thing that stood out was the picture framed on the wall with a much younger looking version of her and another woman.

He knocked on the door a couple of times and just as he thought there was no answer.

He desperately needed someone to talk to, unload his burdens on. Banging on someone's door was not going to take him anywhere, especially if that person was elusive as Reyna.

Just as he was turning to leave he noticed the curtains on the windows were gone, along with everything else in the house. He should've known something was off, normally Aurum and Argentum would've been on the front lawn, but today they were gone.

He started to panic, until he heard the screeching of wheels coming from behind him. He trailed after the sound until he reached the entrance to Caldecott Tunnel, the exit point of Camp Jupiter.

There he saw Reyna, sitting atop two suitcases. She appeared to be waiting for someone.

"Come no further." She ordered.

Jason stopped in his tracks. Right then millions of assumptions flooded his mind.

"What are you doing?" He asked anxiously.

She remained silent, continuing to staring off into the distance.

"You're leaving aren't you?" He said harshly.

"What is there left for me here?," Reyna replied, without turning back.

"You're not even finished your ten years of service!" He reasoned.

"The veterans let me go, they said I've completed enough service for two lifetimes."

"You can't just leave like that, what about me?", he stammered, his hands turning to fists. "We're friends, how could've you forgotten that?"

Reyna laughed rudely, "I think you're mistaken, you're the one who's forgotten."

"But," for a moment the words froze in his mouth."Camp Jupiter needs you, I need you..."

"Jason..."

"Reyna, you've got to listen to me. Leaving won't solve your problems." He tried his best to sound calm, even though he was failing miserably.

"As much as I wanted to change this, I don't resent any of the time I spent alongside you." She smiled back at him. "I really want to change that, but I can't. I know that I'll always think back on what we've done together."

Just as he was about to say something she spoke again.

"I don't hate you, I really wanted to but I can't find a reason to. The funny thing is ever since I met you I always looked for a reason to hate you, but even now I still can't find one."

Once again he stood there speechless, luckily for him Reyna wasn't expecting an answer.

"Piper's a good girl, I knew that ever since the day I first saw her. She sure does a good job of keeping you happy. Better then I ever did," she chuckled. "To think I was foolish enough to think you'd stay, after spending your whole life here at camp surely you'd leave and find someone else. It's not your fault though, you're not the same person anymore. I was in love with the old you, that Jason doesn't exist anymore."

Her voice sounded so placid and serene, it was hard to believe she was pouring her heart out to him. With every word that flowed out of her mouth revealed her heartbreak, her torment, the nightmare that she endured for so long. His body was racked with guilt, knowing at least he could've of done something. A few words of comfort when he first returned could've made all the difference.

"Reyna, I-"

"I don't need your pity, or anyone else's for that matter," she said quietly. "The worst is over."

Both of them hadn't noticed a black corvette pulling up and neither did they notice Piper, Leo, Hazel, Frank, Annabeth and Percy walking towards them.

"Hey Jason, everyone at the party is waiting for you..." Leo stopped mid sentence upon noticing them.

"You can't be leaving!" Jason tried so hard to assure her. "This is our home."

"I know you'll be leaving soon, but look after Camp while I'm gone." Reyna said as she unloaded her luggage into the trunk.

"Where will you be going? You're going to join the amazons aren't you?"

"No, I'm going to spend sometime on my own, preferably away from the mortal and immortal world." Reyna explained.

"You're leaving because of me!," he said angrily. "Are you getting rid of your home because of a boy?"

"Neither that, somebody once told me they wanted to see the world for what it really was, everyone around me seems to be doing it, so I figured it was my turn to. I can't keep sacrificing myself for everyone, it's about time I start living for myself..."

"Guys I think their in the middle of something.." Leo blurted out.

"Right now is not the time for your games, Leo," he sneered.

"I'll be taking my leave now." Reyna nodded just as she was entering the passenger seat of the car.

"You can't be serious!," Just like that he had lost all his cool. "Fine, leave the only place one earth you'll ever find peace and acceptance, see if anyone will care!"

"Goodbye, Jason." She said as she rolled up the the cars window. "Take care of yourself."

He was about to bolt after the car until Percy and Leo caught hold of him.

"Let go of her, man," Leo's words offered little solace to him, so he continued to fight off their grasps.

"She's gone."

**I apologize for my jumbled up timelines. I also apologize for how contradictory this chap is, they weren't supposed to meet again until years later but but I had to write this. This chapter is rather cheesy. **

**Where I seek inspiration from I have to say my fav Bollywood movie I watched years ago Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. I'm still in love with that movie. Anyways review!**


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